In a local network, such as in a connected home, various devices, e.g. consumer electronics and sensor technology devices and actuator devices, e.g. motion detectors, heating thermostats, can be connected to each other. Nowadays such devices, in particular devices with sensors or actuators are usually not connected via an Internet Protocol (IP) connection but via a so-called fieldbus (cf. http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?fitle=Feldbus&oldid=133675829) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fieldbus). Fieldbuses are usually not compatible with the International Standards Organization (ISO)/Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) layer model. Said fieldbuses or bus systems such as ZigBee or ZWave are special, non-Internet-protocol-based bus technologies which have been optimized for use in a locally restricted field, e.g. with regard to the choice of radio frequency bands and energy consumption. Accordingly, identification or addressing of devices connected to such fieldbuses is usually not directly possible from an IP-based network.
In order to be able to have access from an IP network to devices which are connected to such a fieldbus, special components are required. Said components implement the access to the fieldbus on the one hand via hardware and software and on the other hand via IP technologies. Said components are called gateway (cf. http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gateway_(Informatik)&oldid=131744869) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_(telecommunications))
Generally, such a gateway implements the access to the individual devices connected to the fieldbus such that there is a single IP protocol channel for all devices. They are unambiguously identified, e.g. via a number and then controlled individually via a gateway-internal processing component in the fieldbus. Thus, a conversion of n devices to one IP connection to the gateway takes place. Consequently, the gateway carries out a double-sided mapping of devices to internal identification numbers.
In practice, the implementation of gateways results in problems regarding data and access security. Targets for malware may result from the manipulation of the addressing of devices. An access to a common gateway also enables access to all devices connected hereinafter. Conventional technology relies on the usual safety measures in the home network (e.g. a firewall in the home router). In case of manipulations, the weak points of these safety measures cannot be detected. Further, there is no safety mechanism which serves as manipulation defence in any other way.